


post-love

by legobricked



Category: Fire Emblem: Kakusei | Fire Emblem: Awakening
Genre: F/M, One-Sided Attraction, Platonic Female/Male Relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-25
Updated: 2014-02-25
Packaged: 2018-01-13 18:56:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 694
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1237366
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/legobricked/pseuds/legobricked
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Chrom hates how his--the tactician always throws herself so recklessly into battle, and how she won't hear of it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	post-love

**Author's Note:**

> (River is the name of my fmu)
> 
> This is really indulgent and I’m almost ashamed of myself. I only wrote this because of two quotes I REALLY wanted to apply to chrom/river, both are river’s dialogue too (the “you may be my commander” quote and the last one).
> 
> Also, I completely ripped off Elementary for that last quote (it’s from episode 2 of the first season). It’s like… one of my favorite quotes ever… because of how applicable it is to Sherlock… and his whole deal with Irene (so naturally I applied the quote to chrom/river)
> 
> x-posted from: http://howweperceivethings.tumblr.com/post/73919383757

"You know, you really can’t keep checking up on me like this, after every battle I’m in."

Chrom lifted his head and looked at the woman sitting comfortably on her cot. Her shoulder was wrapped in bandages and her face fared no better. There were numerous cuts on her cheek, a giant gash that ran along her jaw from a Risen sword stood out in particular. As painful as it looked to him, River showed no signs of fatigue or pain, just mild annoyance at the injuries, and at Chrom.

“What do you mean by that?”

“You’re the commander; you’ve got responsibilities to tend to.”

“I’m also your friend, and I have a responsibility to look after you.”

River snorted. “Friends look out for friends, not  _after_  friends. Besides, I don’t need to be looked after.” River swung her legs over the cot and fitted her boots on.

“Hey, you can’t start walking; your injuries haven’t healed yet.” Chrom stood up and made to stop her, but River held a hand up before him.

“I’m not suffering from any head or leg injuries, and my shoulder is just fine as long as I don’t strain them. There’s no time for me to waste just laying around, waiting for my injuries to slowly get better.”

Chrom found himself growing angry at River’s stubbornness, accidentally gripping her too hard when he stopped her from walking out the tent.

“Lissa told you not to move until dinner, remember? Even if you  _feel_  fine, it doesn’t mean you can strut around camp as you please.”

She roughly pushed Chrom’s arm off, and snapped her head to him.

“Well,  _you_  need to stop wasting your time looking after me like an overbearing parent!”

“That’s because I’m worried about you! When that risen barely grazed your face, I-I thought you were—“ Chrom stopped himself, swallowing a lump that rose in his throat. His anger immediately died down to a somber and all too familiar worry that he felt whenever River stepped closer and closer to death during every excursion. “ _Please_  promise me you won’t throw yourself into danger like that again. I don’t… I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

She didn’t say anything at first. Her glare softened into a questioning look that finally settled into a quiet understanding. She rubbed the part of her arm where he gripped her, sighing heavily.

“You’d be helpless without me, but… you’d be fine once you found another tactician,” River said nonchalantly. She interrupted Chrom before he protested, “You may be my commander, and you may be my friend, but that’s a promise I _can’t_  make to you, Chrom.”

She looked at Chrom with a defiant stare and a thin smile. There was a silence that weighed greatly on Chrom’s chest, and he found that he couldn’t respond to her, let alone argue with her. Slowly, she bared her teeth in a growing smile and chuckled to herself, amused by Chrom’s (lack of a) reaction. She made her way around Chrom, putting her yellow jacket and heavy cloak on carefully. Then, River headed to the front of the tent, pausing momentarily in the entrance.

“You told me you wouldn’t hesitate taking me in again, if you had a second chance,” River began. She took a deep breath of fresh air before she continued, and all the while Chrom stood still with furrowed brows. A deep and unsettling feeling sat inside him now, and it was one that arose whenever River pushed him away.

“I asked you that question again after we found out about my past and my family… And you told me you  _still_ would’ve helped me.”

Chrom didn’t move, instead closing his eyes and sighing in frustration. There was a slight tone of incredulity at the end of her sentence, but it was true. No matter who she was, who she is or is supposed to be, and no matter how she felt about him, Chrom would always accept River. Whether it was into his life, or into his arms, he would say yes always.

She knew that as well.

“You mind that big heart, Chrom, it’ll beat longer.”


End file.
